TE
Michigan Daily
Edited and managed by Students at the
University of Michigan
Wednesday, May 8, 1974
News Phone: 764-0552
AE: Short fuse
THE WIRE SERVICES these days offer little news to
cheer about, what with transcripts, impeachment
hearings, resignations in Germany, and violence in North-
ern Ireland. But an especially sick, macabre piece
cleared the wires last weekend that points up a poten-
tially explosive--quite literally-situation that can and
should be immediately remedied.
Out of Houston came a story about a father who,
allegedly, castrated his 13-year-old son by exposing the
boy's testicles to canisters of radioactive cesium while
the lad slept. Following by less than a week the rehash-
ing of the Nazi sterilization experiments with X-rays on
the ABC television feature QB VII, the story had an es-
pecially gruesome tone about it.
And how had the father managed to obtain this
obviously harmful cesium? Well, to put it bluntly, quite
legally. Officers of the Atomic Energy Commission
(AEC) had duly authorized him to retain and use radio-
active material in connection with his work as an oil
exploration engineer.
Naturally, we can't totally blame the AEC for the
tragic result. But, at the same time, it seems that the
AEC's applicant screening process must be dangerously
careless to permit such a psychotic person to slip through.
AND THIS IS NOT the only instance of careless action
on the part of the AEC. The student-sponsored Pub-
lic Interest Research Group In Michigan (PIRGIM), for
example, recently distributed a study which shockingly
detailed the unbelievable lack of security precautions
which surround radioactive materials being transported
on Michigan highways.
Admittedly, atomic energy is here to stay, and that's
all well and good. The life-saving medical techniques
that have resulted from atomic research are alone prob-
ably worth the billions spent over the past 30 years.
But those who work with radioactive materials have
an imperative responsibility to the public to remember
that these substances are dangerous and harmful, and
must be handled with the upmost precautions possible.
We shouldn't have to be reminding the AEC of their
public duty-of the very reason the Commission was es-
tablished in the first place. Apparently, however, the
AEC seems to have forgotten. Perhaps a few friendly
letters to Congress might help them remember.
-DAVID BLOMQUIST
Contact your reps-
Sen. Phillip Hart (Dem), Rm 253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol
Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515.
Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep), Rm 353, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol
Hill, Washington, D.C. 2515.
Rep. Marvin Esch (Rep), Rm. 412, Cannon Bldg., Capitol
Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515.
Sen. Gilbert Bursley (Rep), Senate, State Capitol Bldg.,
Lansing, Mi. 48933.
Rep. Perry Bullard (Dem), House of Representatives, State
Capitol Bldg., Lansing, Mi. 48933.
Low energy summer living
By TODD WOOD and
MARY LaPORTE
HERE IS a lotmore to sav-
ing energy than driving 50
MPH and dialing down to 68. We
can conserve our precious na-
tural resources in many ways
in Ann Arbor. It's simply a mat-
ter of chaniging some of our
little day to day activities.
The waste cycle of the Unit-
ed States is extremely energy
intensive. There are steps the
individual can take to limit the
amount of solid waste, and in
the process discover a valuable
resource.
Thinking about a garden this
summer? Do it orgnicaly. It
is much more beneficial to your
body and a whole lot cheaper.
All you need is a compost heap,
which is very easy to put to-
gether. Save your organic kit-
chen garbage -- peels, e g g
shells, leftovers, even bird drop-
pings. The compost pile is made
up of layers of dirt, organic
matter, and manure. Spread this
on your garden before plant-
ing for good, rich topsoil. The
Ann Arbor Public Library and
the Ecology Center have in-
formation on composting and or-
ganic gardening.
RE-CYCLING has got to hap-
pen on a wider scale. Less en-
ergy is required to recycle
aluminum, paper and many oth-
er materials than is required to
make the products from raw
materials. Recycled paper pro-
ducts such as towels, napkins,
tissues and writing paper are
on the market. Urge your stores
to stock recycled paper products
and then buy them.
There is a recycling station
at 1965 South Industrial High-
way, open Wednesday through
Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to
4:30. The station accepts news-
papers, magaznes, computer
cards, computer paper, glass,
metal cans and plastic gallon
containers with tops. Paper ar-
ticles should be separated and
bundled with string. Newspaper
must be bundled separately from
all other paper matter. Staples
and other bits of metal should
be removed. Glass bottles should
be cleaned sorted by color
(green, brown and clear) and all
metal rings removed. Metal
cans should be cleaned, have
labels removed, and be crush-
ed. Aluminum cans should be
separated. Any metal will be ac-
cepted as long as it is crushed.
THERE ARE some areas
around campus where you can
take your stuff. East Quad will
accept everything, and you don't
have to live there. The collection
center is in the basement. Alice
Lloyd collects newspapers, and
area stores will gladly take old
brown bags.
Campus Cornets takes a load
of recycleables to the station
every Wednesday. The people
there like the materials brought
in by early Wednesday. Of
course all these articles must be
properly prepared.
Glass jars can be valuable.
The grain co-op on Packard and
State is always glad to get them.
If you know anyone who is into
:anning, ask them if they could
use some.
Plastic bread wrapper bags
make good stuffing for a throw
pillow. It's surprising what can
be done with a little imagination
and your usual trash.
DO WHAT you can as a con-
sumer. A drink in a returnable
bottle is less expensive than
one in a throwaway container.
If you do not see returnables on
the shelf, urge your stores to
stock them. Campus Coners has
a wide selection of beverages in
returnable bottles. Village Corn-
ers also stocks them, but you
have to ask.
We have a direct impact on
the earth and its energy re-
sources through the food which
we eat. The diet of an aver-
age burger champing American
sa r.a~i 1 -ir c a-- d nr
this country have developed the
absurd cultural attitude of rele-
gating non-meat protein sources
to an inferior position.
IT IS THE earth's natural li-
mitations that must be consider-
ed. A very large portion of the
United State's agricultural re-
sources are funneled into the
production of meat. The Com-
mission of the National Acad-
emy of Sciences has concluded
that to survive in the future we
will all have to rely more on
plants and less on meat. We
feed 78 per cent of all our
grains to animals. The world
grain supply is now at an all
time lowe. A cow must be fed
21 pounds of protein insorder to
produce 1 pound of protein for
human consumption. It is im-
possible to continue at this rate.
'Not only what we eat, but
where we get it is important.
Fortunately for Ann Arborites,
there is an alternative to the
high-cost, high-energy weeky
supermarket sweep. The co-op
system gives you a chance to
decentralize your food buying.
Because it doesn't involve the
usual packing, shipping a n d
packaging, the food is much bet-
ter, fresher and cheaper. We
have a grain co-op, neighbor-
hood vegetable co-ops, and
there are plans for a possible
bakery co-op.
TO GET THE very best food,
have a garden. It's a good ex-
cuse to be outdoors in the sum-
mer, and you'll reap the harvest
in the fall.
People are capable of adapt-
ing to the forces of the environ-
ment, by building a shelter
which protects them from the
elements.
The conventional American
method of coping with weather
is by using as much energy as
is necessary to maintain com-
fort within the environment.
This last winter many Amer-
icans were faced with the real-
ization that energy isn't going
to last as long as the elements.
They also saw how inefficiently
their shelters were constructed.
TO START making your home
more energy efficient stop all
sources of air leak. A lot of cold
air can come is from under.
neath a door and around win-
dows, and it displaces warm air.
Everyone has heard that they
should put weather-stripping on
the door, put up storm windows
or sheet plastic, and make sure
that there is caulking around
the windows, but, how many
have done it? The popular ra-
tionalization is "Well, I don't
own the place where I live, I'm
just renting." And the landlord
probably is not aware of exist-
ing conditions or else doesn't
want to take the initiative to fix
them. So why don't you take
the initiative to fix them)Think
about it. Why wouldn't a land-
lord gladly reimbudse you for
the little it costs? It saves them
money in not paying for labor, it
saves you money in fuel bills. In
the average home it is not hard
to reduce heating and cooling
bills by at least one third.
ONCE YOU have the problem
of keeping cold air out licked,
you can begin on the problem
of keeping warm air in. 30-35
per cent of household heat leav-
es through the roof. In most
homes, heat first goes into the
attic and then out the roof.
In order to save your heating
dollars you should weatherstrip
the door to the attic and seal
around heat ducts and the furn-
ace flue to keep heat from es-
caping.
If you air condition you lose
cool air as you do warm air in
the winter. The National Bur-
eau of Standards says that these
unnecessary air leaks cst an
extra $.30 per day fr cooling.
A few tips for de-energizing
your home:
S Clean your thermostat
yearly.
* Replace furnace filters
every 45 days.
* Keep soot out of your fur-
nace.
* By keeping the hsmidity in
your home up in the winter, you
can dial down. Take plastic milk
cartons and fill them with wat-
er. Place them in a warm place.
If you have a radiator, place a
tray of water under it. A pan of
water on the stove will increase
humidity. In the summer, dis-
pose of all sources of ezeos
water. Keep a window open in
the bathroom and the kitchen,
the two main sources of mois-
ture in a home.
* If you have a radiator, put
aluminum foil, shiny side to-
ward the room, on the wall be-
hind it and on the floor beneath
it.
* If weatherstripping doesn't
work, place an old towel up
against the bottom of the door.
ONE OF THE common atti-
tudes in handling the barrage of
e n e r g y crisis information is,
"some type of alternative will
come up, it always does." The
alternatives have been around
for years.
The homes and lifestyles of
many persons are prototypes
for us to adopt, if we are to
survive.
A man by the name of Harry
Thomason lives in Washington,
D.C., in his fourth solar home.
He built his first one in 1959,
and it is still functional. He
receives about 95 per cent of
his heating from the sun. The
system he now uses cost him
$1000.
Martin Jopp lives in Pince-
ton, Min. He has been build.ng,
and using, windmills and gener-
ators to convert the wind to
electricity since about 1925. He
developed these himself and has
amazing success.
Martin Jopp isn't a college
physics professor, he is a farm-
er and fix-it man with an
eighth grade education.
Robert and Eileen Reines live
in a dome out in New Mexico
which is heated by the sun, and
their electric power - power
enough for a television, stereo,
refrigerator, blender, etc. -
comes from the wind.
Why don't we know more
about this sort of energy inde-
pendence and why isn't this life-
style being implemented? It
makes one wonder where the
vested interests of our gove-
ment's leaders lie.
IN DECEMBER, 1972, Presi-
dent Nixon's Solar E n e r g y
Panel issued its report called
Solar Energy as a National En-
ergy Resource. The President
paid no attention to it. Some
of the panel's findings were:
1) "There are no technical bar-
riers to wide application of so-
lar energy to meet U.S. needs.'
2) "Solar energy utilisation on
a large scale could have a mi-
nimal impact on the enviran-
ment if propery planned." 3)
With support behind solar en-
ergy programs, "building heat-
ing could reach public use with-
in 5 years, building cooling in
6 to 10 years, and electricity
production in 10 to 15 years" and
4) "The cost of converting solar
energy to useful forms of en-
ergy .. . will become competi-
tive in the near future."
It would appear that the
President's concerns are with
someone other than the people.
Perhaps the oil companies?
They are the controlling force
behind the development and Sm-
plementation of nuclear (poison)
power. That would explain how
Nixon could say in June, 1971,
that the nuclear breeder is "our
best hope for the future" and
blurt out in September, 1971
that, "This business about
breeder reactors and nuclear
energy is over my head." Ob-
viously someone else is making
Nixon's energy policies for him.
WHAT IT all boils down to
is, will the power structure
come up with the right alterna-
tive and will it be soon enough.
The way things are going today
it is hard to be optimistic. You
must make your own alterna-
tive or do all you can to enforce
those already existing.
WOUt-P YoU ouY A use -eai-wMPr FROM -tHis MANF?